John Wick TV series The Continental is going ahead at Starz

A TV series set in the John Wick universe has been given the green light. US network Starz made the announcement at the Television Critics’ Association’s winter press tour, adding that it and Lionsgate were working on a series called The Continental, based on the inner workings of the international hotel chain that caters to assassins. The premium network promises that the series will maintain the fast-paced action and sly sense of humor of the John Wick films. It’s said the series will be based on a hyper-real version of Los Angeles.

It’s a perfect fit for Starz which, among its original programming line up, offers hits like Outlander and Black Sails and the upcoming spy series Counterpoint.

Chris Collins (The Man in the High Castle) will be the showrunner and write the series. John Wick co-director and John Wick: Chapter 2 director Chad Stahelski, franchise screenwriter Derek Kolstad, John Wick co-director David Leitch, Basil Iwanyk, Keanu Reeves, and Collins will serve as executive producers. Leitch is currently directing Deadpool 2.

Starz’s president made clear that the show and the movies will exist “side-by-side,” so the existence of The Continental doesn’t preclude more John Wick movies and vice versa.

Stahelski, will direct the premiere episode of The Continental and said, “They’ve got a really good structure. It’s very tied to the film [in that] it’s about the Continentals all over the world, how certain people come into that world, and what happens in relation to those people, which is cool. I think the world is very vast, and everything I’ve heard from it is very positive. […] It’s something that studio seems very, very intent on [making] and very, very behind… You can be with the consigliere, concierge, the sommelier — you can be with all these different characters and walk through the world in different aspects; ones that I’m a little limited [from exploring] by staying with my lead guy.”

Stahelski also said he thought Reeves might make a cameo in the show, which would make sense given that John Wick: Chapter 3is already in the works. Moreover, the show aims to include “thunderous fight sequences and intensely staged shootouts between professional assassins and their targets”.

No premiere date has been announced, but production on the show will likely get underway at some point this year for a debut in 2019.

The third John Wick film is set to be in theatres May 17th, 2019 and Lionsgate picked up the rights to a script called The Ballerina that is intended to be worked into the universe, as well.